Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) plays a major role in maintaining cellular signaling homeostasis by dephosphorylation of a variety of signaling proteins and acts as a tumor suppressor. Protein phosphatase methylesterase-1 (PME-1) negatively regulates PP2A activity by highly complex mechanisms that are reviewed here. Importantly, recent studies have shown that PME-1 promotes oncogenic MAPK/ERK and AKT pathway activities in various cancer types. In human glioma, high PME-1 expression correlates with tumor progression and kinase inhibitor resistance. We discuss the emerging cancer-associated function of PME-1 and its potential clinical relevance.
Biochemical Society transactions. 2016 Dec 15 [Epub]
Amanpreet Kaur, Jukka Westermarck
Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, PO Box 123, Tykistökatu 6, 20520 Turku, Finland.